Physiotherapists in Poplar treat many different conditions including the issues profiled below.

Acute Joint Management

An acute joint is a joint which has suffered an insult, either trauma or arthritic, and has flared up into an inflammatory phase with pain, swelling, loss of range of movement and limited function. Physiotherapists routinely manage acute joints in a variety of situations. The initial management of an acute joint concentrates on controlling the pain and inflammation with analgesics, anti-inflammatories, compression and ice. Reduction in pain and swelling allows the patient to start to get their joint moving so that mechanical stimuli can start to be received by the nervous system. Compression may be a very important treatment as the development of an effusion, fluid within a joint, is known to compromise the muscular control of the joint.

After the initial period the patient is instructed to perform regular contractions of the muscles around the joint to restore control, and to move the joint gradually through a greater and greater range of motion until full range is achieved. Once the ranges of motion are improving and the joint is settling more functional work such as weight bearing or loaded exercises can be started to stress the joint in a graded programme to restore the joint.s full strength and function.

Total Knee Replacement

Joint replacement is one of the most successful medical technical interventions with the highest quality of life improvements of any treatments. The most common reason for having a knee replacement is the occurrence of osteoarthritis, the typical age related joint change which occurs in many millions of people around the world. Osteoarthritis causes joint pain, stiffness, gradually increasing loss of range of movement and difficulties with walking, climbing stairs and rising from sitting. If conservative treatments are not successful and there is significant disability associated with continual pain and difficult sleeping then joint replacement may be considered.

In knee replacement the joint surfaces are replaced by stainless steels components and a plastic liner is inserted between them and on the back of the patella. The operation takes up to two hours and the person is typically seen and mobilised up into standing or walking the next day by the physiotherapist and an assistant. Rehabilitation with the physios is now very important, with exercise practice, gait supervision and functional activities. Length of stay in hospital varies between three and seven days with routine referral to physiotherapy on discharge to work on range of movement and strength.